Top 6 Symptoms of Not getting Enough Sleep

HAVE YOU BEEN GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP?
How many times have you felt lazy, tired and sleepy all day long and just not bothered to give it much of a thought, attributing it to distraction, fatigue or burnout?
There are so many signals our body sends out when it wants us to know that we have not been getting enough sleep. The problem is that most of us overlook these signs of insufficient sleep, inspite of the fact that they are fairly easy to recognize.

Are you getting enough sleep?

Here is a list of some of the first symptoms you will notice, if you have not been getting enough sleep. Read on to know more about the symptoms you need to watch out for to know if your body DEMANDS more sleep:

WAKING UP TIRED:
How many times in a week do you wake up only to realize that you are more tired than you were before sleeping?
If you do not get enough sleep, you just cannot get up feeling fresh in the morning and you are likely to feel exhausted as well because of the simple reason that your body did not get enough rest.

If you have been experiencing this more than twice a week, lack of enough sleep might well be a reason.

LAZINESS DURING THE DAY:
Have you been feeling lazy during the day for no reason at all?
Out of sync with everything-at both work and at home?
No urge to work and too lethargic to, may be, even want to go for a movie with friends?

That is another way of your body telling you that you have been torturing it by not letting it sleep for as long as it must! This sluggishness might land you in trouble at your workplace, besides affecting your efficiency at home.

IRRITABLE BEHAVIOR:
Are you getting bugged by small little things?
Like the ‘noise’ made by the children playing in your neighbor’s courtyard?
Or the bathroom door that your spouse left open?
If the tiniest of such things have been irritating a usually calm and composed you of late, it’s time to consider if you have been getting enough sleep.

Meditating in the morning for a few minutes will help assuage you, and to maintain your cool as the day progresses, though that is no substitute for sleep.

ABSENT MINDEDNESS:
How many times do you misplace your car and cupboard keys in a day?
Or, walk to the refrigerator only to realize that you have forgotten what you wanted in the first place. While it is normal to forget a thing or two or misplace the keys once in a while, but if it is becoming a habit and you are beginning to forget important meetings and other important events, lack of enough sleep could be a reason. If you do not redress the problem soon, you might find yourself drifting away in the midst of an important presentation soon.

While, of course, the best remedy would be to sleep for a little longer, try some puzzles and brain teasers to reverse this short term memory loss. You could try solving a sudoku or a crossword or even start learning a new language to prevent the cells of your brain from degenerating.

LOSS OF APPETITE:
Do you have the urge to skip out your breakfast altogether?
And, are you having your lunch properly?
Depriving the body of sufficient sleep can take a toll on your eating habits and appetite as well. Your body will crave for food at unearthly hours, due to which you might start snacking (in most cases, unhealthily). This, in turn, causes most people to put on or lose weight for reasons beyond their understanding.

You could address a part of this problem by ensuring that you have only healthy snacks if you feel hungry at odd hours.

DEPRESSION:
If symptoms of initial insomnia are not treated early, you may have to face serious complications one of which could be chronic insomnia. Since no one would want become an insomniac and face disorders like depression and bulimia, weight gain, poor immunity, etc., the initial symptoms of sleep deprivation should not be ignored.

As I have mentioned in one of my previous posts, sleep is more important for your body than you think it is.

So, do not deprive yourself of a good night’s rest after a long and arduous day at work.
Having read these symptoms, you will be able to know for yourself if you are being fair to yourself.
In case you have been careless about it, take action before it gets too late!